The Key To Our Soul
by Kaimu
Summary: Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Kurt Hummel and Noah Puckerman all audition for American Idol to try and get a career in music/record deal out of it. None of them expect to get so much more... Kradam  Kris/Adam  and Puckurt  Puck/Kurt
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~1800 Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

It had been a long day for Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, the two last contestants of the first day of auditions in New York.

Both had seen fellow contestants go in and come back out of the audition room. Some of them screaming in joy, some of them cursing and crying in disappointment.

They had heard a lot of people rehearse a little, but they hadn't...They hadn't even screamed with the rest of the over-enthusiastic crowd, just so they could rest their voices before their actual audition.

They had also all watched a hyper Ryan Seacrest talk to all of the contestants, before and after they entered the room with the judges.

Now it was their turn, Kurt going first.

"So, Kurt," Ryan spoke up, "You're one of our two last contestants of the day. How are your nerves? Are they holding up?"

Kurt forced a smile on his face as Ryan pushed the microphone under his nose.

"I'm doing good, Ryan. Yes, I'm a little nervous, but it's nothing I can't deal with."

Ryan nodded, than glanced over at the boy sitting next to Kurt.

"I see you've got some support with you."

Kurt smiled more genuinely after he shared a quick glance with Adam.

"Yes, my friend Adam came with me today. He's gonna audition too."

Adam smiled and waved as the camera zoomed into him for a minute before going back to Ryan and Kurt.

"We will see more of your friend later, because now it's your time to go in front of the judges. Good luck."

Adam clapped for his friend while Kurt smiled and crossed his fingers in front of the camera before he walked in through the door that Ryan held open for him.

It was now or never...

As Kurt stepped into the room, he found all three judges laughing, which he hoped would be a good sign for him, 'cause they were obviously in a good mood.

He smiled at all three of them; Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson; and walked onto the mark.

"Hello," Simon Cowell greeted the boy who just stepped into the room, "What's your name?"

"My name is Kurt Hummel, sir."

"Right. So, Kurt...Tell us something interesting about you."

Kurt had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Anything interesting about him, he had already filled in on the sign in papers, so they probably already read it, or were reading it by now.

"Well, my mom died when I was a little kid, so it's just me and my dad."

"That must be very hard for you."

Kurt nodded, blinking to keep the tears from falling. He wasn't gonna cry, not now.

"It is, sir, but me and my dad learned how to cope with it."

Simon nodded his head, "I'm glad to hear that. So, what are you gonna sing for us today, Kurt?"

Nice quick change of subject...

"I'm gonna sing 'Defying Gravity'."

"Good. Whenever you're ready."

Kurt took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a minute, then breathed out and started singing.

After a few lines of the song, Simon held up his hand to stop him.

Kurt didn't know if that was a good sign or not. Seeing Paula Abdul wipe away a tear, he figured that must mean something good, doesn't it?

"Randy, what did you think of Kurt?" Simon asked while Randy leaned back in his chair, studying the boy in front of him.

"I think he's really good. He has a very high range, which is quite interesting...Yeah, I like him, I like him."

"Paula?"

"I think he's one of the best guys we've seen. I love him."

She send a smile Kurt's way, who returned it with a grateful nod, mouthing 'Thank you'.

Then it was Simon's turn...

"You sound very Broadway to me..."

"Well, it is a song from Wicked..."

"I know, but can you sing just a few lines from something else, not a Broadway Show song, so we can hear if this competition is really for you."

"Yes, of course."

"Ok, let's hear it."

Kurt thought about it for a minute, then sung a few lines from Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep'

Simon stopped him again, but this time, all three judges were smiling.

"Alright," Simon spoke again, "It's desicion time. Randy, yes or no."

"It's a yes from me, dude."

"Paula?"

"100 % yes."

"Kurt... You've got 3 yess-es."

Kurt broke out in a squeal, jumping up and down with his hands clasped over his mouth.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

"Go get your ticket."

Kurt all but ran to the door, taking his ticket from the girl that was sitting there, then ran outside the room, straight into Adam's arms.

"I'm going to Hollywood!" Kurt shouted excitedly, Adam now beaming beside him.

"Congratulations, Kurt." Ryan said, with his never fading smile, "Let's see how your friend Adam will do next, shall we."

Kurt gave Adam one last quick hug, whispering "good luck'" into his ear.

He noticed Adam crossing his fingers in front of the camera like he had done and sat back down on a chair as Adam walked through the door of the audition room.

Now he only had to wait...

"Come on in, don't be skerd." Randy called out when Adam walked inside the audition room.

"I'm not skerd," Adam replied with a grin on his face, walking over to the mark on the ground to take his place.

"So, the final audition of the day," Randy spoke up again, "What's your name?"

"Adam. Adam Lambert."

"What are you gonna sing for us, Adam?"

" 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."

"Nice," Randy replied, his voice hitching a little in excitement, "Go for it, dawg."

He got a few lines done before Simon stopped him, and judging by the look on the Brit's face, something seemed to bother him.

Adam could already guess what it was...

"I'm sorry that I stopped you, Adam..."

Here we go...

"But I'm not sure if you're fit for this show."

"Are you kidding?" Paula exclaimed, "He's amazing!"

"Yeah, he's really good, dude," Randy chimed in, "Why do you think he wouldn't fit into the show? I mean, the dude can sing!"

"It's not about his singing. It's about his look." he suddenly gets a slap on his arm from Paula, "What? You can't say he looks "normal"."

Paula let out a frustrated groan, while Randy and Adam laughed, although the latter's laugh was a little uncomfortable.

"It's in the way you look at it," Adam finally spoke up, "I guess in your eyes I might not look normal, but in others I do. I think I'll be good for the show to open up some people's eyes. " he gave Simon a significant look before smiling again.

Paula whooped while Randy laughed some more, calling Simon out on being owned, Simon's face lightening up into a smile.

"I think I like you, Adam." Simon said, earning a disbelieving laugh from Paula which he just ignored, "It's a yes from me. Paula?"

"Of course it's a yes!"

"Randy?"

"Dude. Yes!"

"Alright, Adam. Go get your ticket."

Adam, still a little in a daze from what just had happened; how he had talked back to Simon Cowell of all people; finally smiled, said a quick "thank you!" and went to the door, taking the ticket from the smiling girl that sat next to it.

He stumbled outside, where Kurt shrieked and flew into his arms so Adam had to back up against the wall to steady himself.

"You made it!" Kurt yelled excitedly, "We're both going to Hollywood!"

"Yeah," Adam said, the good news finally getting through to him a little more, "Yeah, we are!"

The always smiling Ryan clapped Adam on the back.

"Congratulations. Now go and celebrate you two!"

Adam had come over the first shock and after waving goodbye to Ryan and the cameraman, he and Kurt ran off with their tickets in hand, laughing and screaming happily.

They were going to Hollywood!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~1800 Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

The second day of auditions in New York had gone quite the same as the first one. With a lot of ups and downs.

There were a lot of good singers but also a lot of bad than good to be frank.

This time the judges weren't in such a good mood as the first day.

Randy was yawning a lot, Paula was throwing angry fits at Simon, while the latter was even harder in his judgments than he usually was.

Noah Puckerman and Kris Allen had heard all about it from the competitors before them. Seeing they were the last ones made them all the more nervous.

Noah and Kris were friends, best friends, but nothing more than that. Both had a girlfriend but they both also knew they were bi and so did their girlfriends.

The girls were very open minded and didn't care that their boys would goggle at another guy once in a while, as long as it didn't get any further than that.

Noah was the one with the idea to sign up for American Idol and had asked, almost begged, Kris to go with him.

Noah always said Kris had the talend and he himself had the confidence and the guts; together they were the perfect team.

Not that Noah wasn't talented. He could sing and play guitar amazingly well, but he just was the more confident one of the two as a matter of fact, so that's why he always said it like that.

Kris played the guitar as well and they spend a lot of time just jamming with each other.

Ryan came over to them, making Kris switch to the empty seat next to him so he could sit in between him and Noah.

Kris would be the first one to go inside, so Ryan turned to him first.

"So, Kris, I think you already know this has been quite a stressful day for our judges. Do you think you could cheer them up again?"

"I will certainly try, Ryan," Kris answered, "I hope Simon won't be too hard on me. I heard he's extremely, uhm, how should I call it..."

"Bitchy."

Kris laughed, "Well, you said it, not me."

Ryan smiled and put his hand on Kris' shoulder.

"It's time to find out how bitchy Simon is. Good luck."

Noah gave Kris a thumbs up as he saw his friend stand up to go through the door that would lead him to the dreaded judges.

Noah wasn't nervous for Kris at all, he knew that he would sail through.

If only he could let Kris himself believe that...

"Come on down, dude, " Randy said when Kris came through the door and walked down the step, muffling another yawn, "What's your name?"

"Kris Allen."

"What are you gonna sing for us today, Kris Allen?"

" 'A Song For You'."

Paula's face lit up into a smile, Simon said he loved that song; making Kris all the more nervous; while Randy just nodded.

"Good luck, dawg."

Kris took a breath and closed his eyes, trying to get the emotion across on his face.

The judges didn't stop him, so he stopped after the first lines and the chorus. When he had stopped, Paula clapped her hands, smile still in place.

Simon was the first to speak up.

" I think you might have a personality problem, Kris. You just seem way too nice."

Paula buried her face into her hands and groaned.

Randy seemed to agree a little with Simon though, 'cause he said, " He's got a good voice, I just don't feel the star from it."

Paula, who had enough of the two downers, spoke up before Simon could again.

"It takes a lot of guts to sing that song. You have to be a singer to sing that song."

Kris smiled and shifted from foot to foot to keep down his nerves.

Paula took the lead of the votes this time.

"Randy?"

"Yes!"

"Simon?"

"I'm gonna give you another shot. Yes."

"Three yess-es. You're going to Hollywood!"

Kris threw his hands up in the air and send a silent thank you to the ceiling before thanking the judges, grabbing his ticket and bolting out the door.

When he came outside, Noah was already waiting for him, grinning broadly.

"I knew you could do it, man!" Noah said, pulling Kris into a full body hug.

"Thanks, man." Kris said when they pulled away, "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't begged me to come."

Noah just laughed and pushed Kris towards Ryan to have his moment of victory in front of the camera.

Besides, he had to prepare himself to go face the judges himself in a couple minutes.

When Ryan had let go of Kris' shoulder, he walked over to Noah to have a quick word than led him inside the audition room.

It was showtime. Hopefully he would get through as well...

"Hi, what's your name?" Simon said when Noah stood still on the spot he had to be standing.

"My name is Noah Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck."

"Puck?"

"Yes, sir."

"Alright, Puck. This hasn't been such a good day for us and you're the last person auditioning. You think you can make our day end on a good note?"

"I hope so, sir."

Simon nodded, "Right. What are you singing?"

" 'Only The Good Die Young.' "

"Alright, let's hear it."

Puck felt a little uncomfortable without his guitar; not really knowing what to do with his hands, he just shved them in his pockets.

He got to sing a fair amount of lines of the song when Simon stopped him.

Puck tried to read the man's face, but he just couldn't. He hoped it was a good thing.

"Randy, what did you think of Puck's singing?"

"It was very nice, dude," Randy answered, "You have a nice voice. I don't know about the star quality though."

"Paula?"

"I think you have a very nice tone to your voice. You do need to work a little more on performing, but...You did good. You really did."

Then, last but not least, it was Simon's turn.

"Puck...It says here on your audition form that you play the guitar. How long have you been playing?"

"Since I was a kid, sir. My dad walked out on me, my mom and my sister and I needed something to cope with it. That's when I found my love for music. My love for singing and playing guitar. I haven't stopped ever since."

Simon nodded in understanding while Paula let out a sympathetic "awww".

"I think that's what holding you back, that you can't have your guitar with you now, isn't it?"

Puck nodded, "Yeah, it is quite strange for me to be singing without my guitar. I didn't know what to do with my hands."

"So you tucked them into your pockets."

Puck laughed breathlessly, "Yeah..."

"Well, you're lucky that we let the contestants perform with an instrument on stage since a couple years, so, that could be an advantage for you."

"Yeah, it certainly would, sir."

"I'm not so sure if you will be able to stand out from the crowd, voice wise. But...I'm willing to give you a chance. It's a yes from me."

"It's a yes from me," Paula chimed in.

"Guess what," Randy said excitedly,"It's a yes from me too! You're going to Hollywood, dude!"

Puck was close to doing a little victory dance but kept himself calm and just did it inside his mind.

He did do a little fist pump and went over to the judges table to shake their hands and give Paula a kiss on the cheek like the gentleman he was.

Then he made his way over to the door with his usual swagger and he just knew Paula Abdul was checking out his ass.

He smirked and gave a wink to the girl who handed him his ticket to Hollywood, a blush spreading on her cheeks, then he was out the door to tell Kris and Ryan the good news.

He first showed his ticket in the door opening, hearing Kris cheer, then stepped outside to be engulfed into his friend's waiting arms.

"Seems like you both gave the judges a good ending to what seemed like a dreadful day to them." Ryan said when Noah and Kris pulled away.

Noah draped his arm over Kris' shoulder, both smiling at the camera.

"I knew we could do it," Noah said confidently, "If anyone could cheer up the judges it was me and Kris."

Kris rolled his eyes but Ryan was still smiling. Did that smile ever disappear from his face?

"Well, congratulations guys. Go off and celebrate. I'll see you in Hollywood."

Kris and Noah gave a high five before running out of the building where another camera was waiting, so they did a little jump just for the sake of it.

They were going to Hollywood! And boy, were they excited!


	3. Chapter 3

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~2.050 Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

A/N: Yes, Puck and Kris do have girlfriends at the start of this. It won't be that long though...LOL

Finally the day had arrived. The day that their week in Hollywood would start.

Adam and Kurt had been practising in the meanwhile, together and seperately.

Adam did some gigs at the local bars while Kurt took some extra lessons with his vocal teacher, Will Shuester.

They both went on the same plane together so they could chat and try to forget about their nerves for a little while.

"You know that they probably won't be letting us be roommates, huh." Adam suddenly said, making Kurt nod sadly.

"I know...We're friends and they never let real life friends be roommates on the show. Especialy not before the top 10 is revealed and we'll be moved to the mansion."

Adam nodded, "If we make it until then."

Kurt smiled lightly," We will."

It went silent after that, the nerves taking hold of both boys again.

"How's Finn doing?" Adam suddenly asked, trying to break through the silence again.

"He's doing good," Kurt answered, "I think he's finally learning how to deal with having a gay stepbrother."

"About damn time," Adam commented, "I'm usually not the violent type of guy, but I really wanted to punch him in the face after you told me about your encounter in your bedroom."

Kurt winced a little when he remembered his stepbrother calling everything about his room 'faggy'. When his father heard him, he had been truly livid.

He even kicked Finn out of the house for a while to which Carole, Finn's mom, didn't even object to because she was pretty angry at her son as well.

"He's just a little slow sometimes," Kurt answered after a few seconds, "But he's really not a bad guy."

A female voice came over the speakers, telling all the passengers of the flight they would be landing soon.

The two friends chatted a little more until the plane landed and they stood up from their seats.

"Are you ready to do this?" Adam asked as he walked by his friends side.

"I think I am," Kurt replied, "I just hope they won't place me into a room with a homophobe."

"If that happens we'll go straight to the judges or the producers, alright?"

Kurt smiled, loving the protectiveness of his bigger, older friend.

"Same goes for you."

Noah and Kris were two of the first persons inside the big auditorium, waiting for all the contestants to pile in too.

First they were told to wait in the big ass hallway were they had taken out their guitars out of their cases and put on a little show for everyone to see and hear.

Most people seemed to like it, 'cause soon enough they had a whole circle of contestants around them, singing and dancing along with them.

When someone of the American Idol crew came to tell them it was time for them to go inside, every spectator of their show had congratulated them.

It certainly had put them both in high spirits to start their week.

"Sorry," they both were pulled out of their thoughts by someone standing next to them, bending over a little to talk to them, "Are these seats taken?"

Noah, who was sitting on the seat closest to the aisle, looked up into bright blue-green eyes.

He actually had to clear his throat before he could bring out, "Sorry, what?"

The boy in front of him rolled his eyes but let out a soft chuckle.

"I asked if those seats, next to your friend, are taken?"

"Oh," Noah said, actually looking over at the seats before turning to the boy again, "No, they're free."

The boy smiled, "Good," then he straightened up and started waving at someone, "Adam!" the boy called out, "Adam, I found us some good seats!"

Adam came walking over to his friend and the two other guys, a volt of recognition flashing through his mind when he saw the two boys from a closer view.

"You're the two guys who were playing the guitar out there in the hallway, aren't you?"

Kurt looked wide eyed at Adam, then looked back to the boys in the seats.

"Hey, you are those two guys!"

Noah and Kris both smiled and nodded.

"Yep, we are," Noah answered for the both of them."I'm Noah, and this is my friend Kris."

Then they both moved their legs so Adam and Kurt could get to the seats beside Kris.

"I'm Kurt," Kurt said once he sat down beside Kris, "And this is Adam," he gestured with his hand to the raven haired guy beside him.

"So we heard," Noah replied, chuckling softly when Kurt's cheeks flushed a little. "So, do you guys play any instruments?"

"Adam doesn't," Kurt answered before Adam could even open his mouth, "But I play the piano a little."

"Cool," Noah answered, now almost leaning over Kris to talk with Kurt.

Kris noticed and rolled his eyes and cleared his throat, making both boys look at him.

"Excuse me, do you want me to move or something?"

Noah looked taken aback, Kurt looked a little embarassed, but Adam laughed making Kris smile as well.

"I think you could switch seats with Kurt," Adam spoke up.

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Kurt replied almost a little too eager, "Come on Kris, let's switch."

Kris sighed but did as he was told and switched seats with Kurt so that he was now seated between Adam and Kurt, two complete strangers.

Just fucking great.

"You sounded really good out there," Kris turned his head to the right and looked straight into Adam's, slightly nervous, smiling face." You really have a talent."

"Thanks," Kris answered, rubbing the back of his neck like he always did when he was shy, embarassed or uncomfortable.

"You've been playing the guitar for long?"

Adam was trying to get a conversation going and Kris found he really didn't mind that at all.

Now that Puck was so engaged in a conversation with Kurt, whatever it was about, he thought talking with Adam might calm his nerves as well.

"Ever since I was a kid. I got my first guitar as a Christmas present. I'm pretty sure my parents still have it somewhere as a remembrance of my childhood. Sorry if it sounds corny, that's just the way my parents are."

Adam chuckled and shook his head, "Don't apologize. My mom still has my first teddy bear, sitting on the kitchen counter. It's pretty embarassing really."

Kris laughed, "I think it's cute. Your mom must really love you."

A smile spread on Adam's face, "Yeah, she does. It's mutual."

"What about your dad?" Kris was slowly getting into the picking up a conversation thing.

"My parents got divorced. It's ok, though," Adam quickly said when he saw Kris was going to apologize or something, "We still have a good relationship. My mom and dad are still friends."

Kris smiled, "What about Christmas? Did you still get teddy bears?"

Adam laughed, then shook his head."We don't celebrate Christmas. I'm Jewish."

"Oh, just like Noah then."

Noah, who had suddenly hear his name, perked up a little.

"Are you talking about me again, Kristopher?"

"Yeah, I can't stop doing that, can I?" Kris said mockingly, earning an eyeroll and a punch to his arm from his friend. "I was just telling Adam that you're Jewish too."

"Ah," Noah replied, looking over at Adam now, "Good Jew or bad Jew?"

Kris groaned but Adam just laughed.

"I think you can place me in the middle. "

Noah smirked at him, "Join the club. It's nice to have a fellow Jew here."

Adam gave him a smile and a nod and Noah turned back to Kurt while Adam turned back to Kris.

They talked a little more until they were interrupted by loud cheering and the judges' entrance.

They all listen, together with the hundreds of other contestants, to the speeches of Rand, Paula and Simon.

It's always the same... Make good song choices, don't forget the lyrics, this is your chance to stardom.

They all heard it on TV so many times, but now that it was directed at them personally it became all the more real, exciting and, most of all, extremely nerve wrecking.

After the whole introduction thing they were paired off into small groups and told in which order they were supposed to be on stage the next day.

Then they would get their room number and the key to it.

Not having paid attention with whom they would share a room for the next of the week, although they were pretty sure someone told them, Kris and Noah dragged their bag towards the elevators to get to their room.

"Where do you reckon Kurt and Adam might've gone off to?" Noah asked during their elevator ride, "I haven't seen them since our groups were paired up. I don't see why we had to go into our group though, we're all gonna do solo's the first day."

Kris shrugged, "I haven't seen them either ater that and I don't know. Maybe just so we could get to know each other? To see who's in your group?"

"I think we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other," Noah commented, "He's cute though."

"Who is?" Kris asked, confused about the sudden change of subject. Or wasn't it?

"Kurt," Noah replied simply, "He's totally my type."

"Noah," Kris half groaned, "You have a girlfriend."

"So do you," Noah fired back, "That didn't stop you from checking Adam out though."

Kris gasped, "I did no such thing!"

Noah just laughed at his friend, "Yes you did!"

"Shut up," Kris grumbled, "There's nothing wrong with looking."

"You said it my friend," Noah bumped his shoulder against Kris' "I'm pretty sure Dana would love to watch as well when Kurt and I get our mack on."

Kris snorted, "You wish."

Noah winked at him again, "What can I say? I already told you that he's my type."

"Yeah and Adam's mine. That doesn't mean I want to get into his pants or something."

"Who was talking about getting into someone's pants?" Noah said in mocked shock, "Kristopher you perverted little man."

Kris just laughed and pushed his friend away a little, "Look who's talking."

"Let's just enjoy watching them, who knows how long we'll be here anyway, there's nothing wrong with that."

"We could also try and be friends with them, like you said, we don't know how long we'll be here. Hell, we might be going home tomorrow."

"You might, but I won't," Noah teased, getting an eye roll from his friend.

"Cocky bastard."

Noah just smirked. Then they heard the quiet 'ping' indicating that the, extremely slow, elevator had arrivedd on their floor.

"Seems like our rooms are right across from each other," Kris noticed, quite relieved, once they were standing in the hallway, right in between both of their doors.

"Yeah, lucky us," Noah answered with a smirk, "I just hope neither of us gets stuck with a stupid narrow minded loser, or I will have to beat the crap out of him."

"Behave, Puck," Kris said, "I don't want you to get kicked out bacause of bad behavior."

"Ah, you know me Kristopher,"

"Yes, I do. That's why I'm worried."

Noah huffed and turned his back to Kris to open the door of his room, while Kris did the same with his.

They both stopped dead still inside of their doorways, staring at the men that were already there in their rooms.

They turned their heads over their shoulders and looked wide eyed at each other, both thinking the same thing.

_We are so screwed..._


	4. Chapter 4

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~ Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

"Hey," Kurt said when he stopped unpacking his suitcase and turned to the just opened door, "I guess we're roommates now."

Noah shook his head a little, trying to clear his mind, then tried to turn back the smile that Kurt was giving him.

"Yeah," he finally managed to get out, "I guess we are."

Kurt's face fell a little by the lack of enthusiasm, the lack of anything actually in Noah's words.

"If you don't want to be my roommate we could still try and switch. I could ask-"

"No, no," Noah stopped him, holding up his hand, "I'm glad to have you as my roommate."

"Really?" Kurt asked, still not really believing it.

"Of course I am," Noah replied honestly, "I just didn't expect it. I thought I would be paired up with some kind of jerk."

Kurt smirked and put his hand on his hip, "What makes you think I'm not some kind of jerk?"

"People knowledge," Noah chuckled when Kurt raised his eyebrow. "Believe it, babe. I've got you all figured out already"

"Oh really?" Kurt asked, something close to mirth sparkling in his eyes, "Well, you might be surprised..."

"I hope so," Noah mumbled softly then cleared his throat and walked over to the empty bed, "I see you've already chosen your place to sleep."

"Oh,we can still switch if you like."

"No, it's fine. I don't really care which bed I get, I can sleep everywhere."

Kurt smiled, "Well, I have a little more problem with falling asleep somewhere else that isn't my house. Especially the first night."

"You can always wake me up if you can't sleep. Then we can both be awake together."

Noah had no idea where that came from, and basically, it didn't make any kind of sense.

Kurt blinked, "Um, thanks, I guess. Although I don't know what would be so good about us both being awake. At least one of us should get some sleep."

Noah shrugged and opened his bag, trying to put his attention into unpacking instead of starting an awkward conversation again.

"I'm gonna hit the showers," Kurt announced, taking his pajamas with him, "You don't mind going second, do you?"

"Not at all," Noah answered with a tight smile. He was just glad he didn't have to talk anymore.

Instead, he pulled out his cellphone and send a two word text to Kris.

_"Help me."_

Adam was still standing, bend over, with his back towards the door when Kris cleared his throat.

"Oh, hi!" Adam said when he whipped around and came face to face with an amused looking Kris Allen.

"Hey," Kris replied, "It seems like I'm your roommate."

"Yeah, seems like it," Adam replied, smiling brightly, "I was a little afraid who would be my roommate. Looks like I didn't have anything to worry about after all."

Adam winked, which; for some unknown reason; made Kris blush.

"Thanks, I guess," Kris replied, feeling a little uncomfortable, "What makes you think that you don't have to worry about me? For all you know I could be a serial killer and murder you in your sleep."

Adam laughed. Kris couldn't help but smile with him. His laugh was just that infectuous.

"You, Kristopher Allen, are absolutely no murderer. You're way too sweet."

Kris blinked, "How do you know my full name?"

Another person would ask why he thinks he's sweet, but no, not Kris Allen...He had to ask how the guy knew his name.

Adam just smiled and pointed to the name tag that's attached to his bag.

"Oh," Kris said, blushing in shame, "That was obvious I guess."

"Pretty much," Adam replied casually, then smirked a little, "Besides, you wouldn't be able to kill me in my sleep 'cause I'm pretty sure you're a better sleeper than I am. You should be more scared of me."

"Why?" Kris asked, cocking his eyebrow.

"I might molest you when you're asleep.'"

"Uh," Kris looked all kinds of uncomfortable but still came up with a comeback, which would sound maybe kind of lame, but so be it. "What makes you think I wouldn't molest you in your sleep?"

Well, it didn't loose his effect 'cause Adam dropped the shirts he was holding back on his bed and stared at Kris, wide eyed.

"You're gay?"

"You sound surprised," Kris grinned widely, "Would it be such a shock if I told you I was gay?"

Adam's eyes seemed to go darker for a second before he composed himself.

"I don't know...Are you?"

Kris shook his head, "I'm not gay. I'm bi."

Adam blinked, "Oh."

"I also have a girlfriend," Kris quickly rattled on, "So, you don't have to worry. I won't molest you."

"Oh," Adam repeated, "Well, lucky me, I guess."

Then he went back to putting his clothes into the closet, trying to ignore the awkwardness but it wasn't really working.

Of course Kris had other ideas than sitting in awkward silence.

"Adam?"

"Hmm?"

"Are things gonna be weird between us now?"

"No, of course not." Adam answered, still not looking at his roommate, "Why would they?"

"Because I have this feeling they already are."

Kris' voice was not much louder than a whisper, but Adam had heard it.

Oh, he heard it very well.

He dropped the last of his clothes in the closet, rubbed his temples, then turned around to see Kris unpacking now as well.

"Kris," Kris didn't answer so Adam stepped up to him and put his hand on his shoulder, "Kris, turn around."

Kris swallowed but did as he was told. Adam took a step back and held his hand out to Kris.

"Hi, I'm Adam Lambert. Your new roommate."

Kris blinked. At a lack of response from Kris, Adam raised his eyebrows in a suggestive way, while moving his hand in a shaking motion so Kris would get it.

He did, because he smiled and shook Adam's hand.

"Kris Allen. I hope we will get along great, Adam."

Adam smiled and winked at him, "I'm sure we will, Kris. I'm sure we will." He, rather reluctantly, let go of Kris' hand, "Now I will let you further unpack your bag while I'm going to shower, then meet up with Kurt to explore this place a little. You can come with us if you'd like."

"Sure," Kris answered without even thinking it over for one second, then he backtracked just a little bit, "If Noah can come too that is."

"Of course," Adam replied, not feeling offended at all, "It will be fun. Just the four of us."

"Yeah...Fun." Kris smiled forcefully.

Adam didn't seem to notice, or he just didn't react to it. He just went to the bathroom to take his shower.

Kris dropped himself on the free bed that Adam hadn't occupied already and buried his head in his hands.

Of all the people they could've paired him up with to share a room with, they had to pick Adam Lambert.

His phone buzzed, letting him kything is now that he has a message.

He pulls it out of his pocket and smiles when he reads it.

_"Help me."_ from Puck.

He quickly typed back a reply;

_"I'll help you, but only if you help me. We're going out with A & K tonight, don't you dare to say no."_

A few minutes later he gets a text back and full out laughs at the first part of it.

_"Anything is better than watching K strut around, wearing nothing but a robe. I'll tell him about the going out thing, not sure he'll want to go though. Maybe you and A can go alone."_

_"You're not ditching me."_ Kris typed back, but wasn't done yet, _"Keep a look out for when Kurt drops the robe. I'm sure Puckzilla would find that very entertaining."_

Kris could already imagine the shocked, then laughing, then annoyed expression on his friend's face as he waited for his reply; which he got only a minute later.

_"Ha-fucking-ha. Just you wait, Kristopher. I bet Adam is not a prude either. Maybe he'll even strut around the room without the robe and just a towel."_

_**'Like he would ever'**_ Kris thought to himself and was ready to reply the same thing when the door of the bathroom and Adam came into the room, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

He held back a groan as Adam smirked, freaking smirked, at him.

He quickly typed another message to Puck.

_"Fuck me. He just came out of the bathroom with just a towel around his waist."_

He could so imagine Puck's smirk, which was even worse than Adam's most likely. Thoug, Kris had to admit, Adam's smirk did come close.

He almost didn't dare to read the reply he got. When he did, he knew why...

_"Told you so. I'll leave that first part to Adam."_

This time Kris couldn't hold back the groan as he threw his cellphone, screen downwards, onto the mattress.

Adam, clothes in hand and ready to get back into the bathroom to change into them, turned around to give him a questioning look.

"Something wrong?"

"No,no, just..." Kris gestured to his phone, "A text from Noah."

"Oh," Adam replied blankly, continuing his way to the bathroom, "I'll be back in a few."

Kris just nodded, watching the door of the bathroom fall closed behind Adam's, naked, back.

This show was gonna be the death of him. He could already feel it.


	5. Chapter 5

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~ Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>The night out between the four friends had gone extremely well for the most part of it.<p>

Apparently Adam had lived in Hollywood for a while, so he knew the right place for them to grab something to eat.

What he also knew were the bars and clubs where they could go out.

Kris really wasn't a club kind of guy, and lucky for him, neither were Kurt and Noah.

Adam had tried to change their minds, had even pouted, but it didn't work so they settled with just walking down the streets of Hollywood while Adam gave comments about the shops they walked passed occasionally.

So it did went well, until the girlfriends decided to call to ask how their flight and their first day in Hollywood had been.

First was Dana, Puck's girlfriend and as if she felt it, Kris' girlfriend Ella called with just a few minutes in between.

They were just sitting on a bench in a park , both boys standing up and moving away a little to get a little privacy when they answered their calls.

That's how Adam and Kurt ended up alone on the bench, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Both of them knew, without even telling each other, that their respective roommates were totally their types.

When Kris had told Adam that he had a girlfriend, Adam had felt something painful inside his chest.

He didn't really know what it was but it hurt, like a bitch.

Kurt hadn't found out about Noah having a girlfriend until his phone rang and he took the call with "Hey baby" , and well, it hurt.

It hurt a lot.

He and Adam had noticed the boys immediately, jamming their guitars and singing for all of the contestants. It really was kind of breathtaking.

Plus, their voices blended amazingly beautiful.

If they ever had a chance of doing that on the show, the judges, oh hell, all of America would be blown away.

It was quiet on their way back, Adam walking next to Kris and Kurt next to Noah. Even in their rooms they didn't say much.

Only who got to use the bathroom first and then a soft goodnight.

It was all a bit strained and strange to say the least.

And this was only the first day...What else would Hollywood week have in store for them?

The next day started pretty normal, at least the four boys tried to act like nothing happened, so, as normal as possible.

Actually, nothing had happened. Just a phonecall from Noah's and Kris' girlfriends.

But somehow that had somehow put a restrain on their build-up friendship with Adam and Kurt.

When it was time for their first time to perform, they split up into their groups and wished each other luck.

Kurt's group was first and Noah found himself mesmerized by the boy with the high range.

Of course Kurt got through and Noah was the first up on his feet to congratulate him, except the other members of Kurt's group of course.

Then it was time for Kris. Paula still seemed impressed with him 'cause she clapped her hands after Simon stopped him.

Paula wasn't the only one who was impressed 'cause Adam was staring at him and even Kurt was leaning over to whisper to Adam and Noah; "He's really good." Adam couldn't do anything but nod.

When Kris came over to them, a curly haired guy, who had been part of Kris' group, was walking next to him.

"Hey guys," Kris said to his friends, "So, what did ya think?"

Kris somehow looked a little uncomfortable to Adam, and he really didn't want to see that look on Kris.

"You were wonderful," he answered, mentally patting himself on the back when he saw Kris' eyes light up and smile at him.

"You're very talented," Kurt commented.

"Great as always, dude," Noah said, then turned to the other guy, "You weren't half bad either."

The guy smiled, "Thanks. I'm Matt by the way."

The others introduced themselves before they had to be quiet when another group of contestants took the stage.

After that group it was time for Adam's group and when it was time for him to sing, everyone in the whole theatre was gaping at him.

No matter how short the part was that they could sing in such a short amount of time, Adam's performance left them all speechless.

Kris, who had been talking with Matt; who had taken a seat with the four friends; suddenly stopped talking mid sentence and stared open mouthed at the black haired God on stage.

There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Adam sailed through and Kris was the first one on his feet to hug the guy when he approached them.

Noah was the last one of the four of them to perform and got the whole crowd singing along with his, extremely short, version of "Sweet Caroline".

He had the gift to be a crowd was Noah's biggest strength.

Another crowd pleaser was the curly haired boy in Noah's group called Blaine Anderson.

Blaine seemed impressed with Noah because when the part of the group that got through left the stage, he walked up to Noah with an outstretched hand.

"You were great man."

"Thanks," Noah smirked, "You're not bad either."

Blaine shrugged, "I'm used of singing in a boys group. Even though I always get the solo's, I've never been a real solo singer. I always had the guys to back me up, now I don't."

"You'll be fine. " He led Blaine over to his friends and introduced them, "Guys, this is Blaine. Blaine, this is my good friend Kris, my roommate Kurt, Kris' roommate Adam and Matt just joined us after his performance."

"Hi everyone," Blaine smiled and waved, a little dorkily if you asked Puck.

The group of four greeted him back and much to Noah's chagrin, Blaine took his seat next to Kurt and immediately started talking to the boy.

He caught Kris' eye and huffed at the knowing look on his friend's face.

As if he wouldn't be jealous when someone would just sit down next to Adam, on his chair, and just started talking to him like he'd known him for years.

Talking about Adam, Noah had seen him glare a little at Matt, who was getting on really well with Kris, a few times, which was very interesting in Noah's opinion.

After all the groups had done their thing and the people who got cut said goodbye, Kris, Adam, Kurt and Noah all went back to their rooms together.

They were free until they would be called back to be seperated into groups again, but this time to perform a group number.

It would be the hardest part of the Hollywood week; the group round.

The fights between group members were always shown on TV, so everyone was a little anxious about them.

Suddenly they were stopped by one of the co-producers of the show; mister Nigel Lythgoe.

He asked Kris and Noah to come with him without any further explanation.

Kris, Noah, Kurt and Adam all looked at each other in confusion before Kris and Noah followed Nigel to, what they thought would be, his office.

Leaving Adam and Kurt alone in confusion and a little fear of what this all could mean.

"I really hope they haven't been send home for some reason," Kurt said nervously to Adam, Matt and Blaine when they were sitting in the theatre, waiting to be paired up for group round.

"What would that reason be then?" Blaine asked curiously.

"Maybe they kept something a secret when they signed up for Idol and the producers found out about it?" Matt asked, just as curious about the reason why Kris and Noah still hadn't returned from their talk with Nigel.

"I don't think Kris is a person who could keep such an important secret that the producers should know," Adam spoke up, "Not when he knows it could put him in danger of being thrown out of the competition. That's just not like him at all."

"That's not like Noah either," Kurt chimed in, "There must be something else..."

"Is their stuff still in your rooms?" Blaine asked.

Both Kurt and Adam nodded.

"Then I don't think they're send home," Blaine said with a smile that he hoped would come over as reassuring, "If that was the case, then they would have returned to their bedrooms allready to pack."

"He has a point," Matt said thoughtfully, "But that still doesn't explain why they're gone that long without telling you guys something. Does one of you have one of their cellphone numbers?"

Kurt and Adam both shook their heads and Matt let out a sigh.

"Guess we'll have to wait until they show up again then..."

They didn't have to wait long, because suddenly, very much to everyone's surprise, the judges came filing into the theatre and took their usual places in front of the stage.

Everyone was confused and started whispering to each other.

What could possibly be the meaning of this?

This wasn't just gonna be their pairing up in groups moment, was it?

Then Ryan came on stage with a microphone in hand and everyone went quiet.

"Hi guys," Ryan spoke up when he thought it was quiet enough to speak, "I'm sure you're all curious about what's going on right now. Well, I'm here to explain it to you. A co-producer of American Idol, mister Nigel Lythgoe, wants for this year to not let the group round be so dramatic; or try at least...That's why he asked two of the contestants to perform together on this stage to show you all how it's supposed to be done and to give you some courage. He and me myself have seen them perform in the lobby yesterday, so I know you're in for a treat. I'm not gonna let you guys wait any longer. Give it up for Kris Allen and Noah Puckerman!"

Kurt and Adam stared at each other wide eyed, then stared at the stage as they heard someone strum their guitar and saw Noah in the middle of the stage, the band behind him.

Everyone clapped politely. The one a little more enthusiastic than the other.

Kurt and Adam didn't do anything but stare.

How the time passed away All the trouble that we gave And all those day we spent out by the lake Has it all gone to waste?  
>All the promises we made One by one they vanished just the same<p>

All the things I still remember Summers never looked the same Years go by and time just seems to fly But the memories remain In the middle of September We still played out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could've been It was worth it in the end

While Noah and the band played, Kris stepped onto the stage with his guitar in hand.

Now it all seems so clear There's nothing left to fear So we made our way by finding what was real Now the days are so long That summer's moving on Reach for something that's already gone

All the things I still remember Summers never look the same Years go by and time just seems to fly But the memories remain In the middle of September We still played out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could've been It was worth it in the end

Noah and Kris both rocked it out on their guitars, which earned a standing ovation from the whole crowd.

Including Adam, Kurt, Matt, Blaine and Paula Abdul.

Then Kris took the lead vocals with Noah easy going to backing him up, but still almost in unison.

Yeah, We knew we had to leave this town But we never knew when and we never knew how We would end up here the way we are

We knew we had to leave this town But we never knew when and we never knew how

We never knew how

As Noah belted the last "we never knew how" out in his higher register, everyone cheered and Paula threw up her hands.

Then it was both of them together again.

All the things I still remember Summers never look the same Years go by and time just seems to fly But the memories remain In the middle of September We still played out in the rain Nothing to lose but everything to gain Reflecting now on how things could've been It was worth it in the end

The music stopped and Noah and Kris held their one arm wide as they did the last strum on their guitars.

Everyone was still on their feet and they erupted into cheers, whistles, catcalls,... Everything you can imagine.

Randy had stood up next to Paula for a standing ovation, and even Simon was clapping in his seat.

Noah and Kris smiled widely as they took a few bows, then pushed their guitars to their side and wrapped each other up in a one armed hug.

When the crowd had calmed down a little and they all had taken their seats again, including the two judges, Randy spoke up into his microphone.

"Dudes, that was HOT!"

He said some more things but they couldn't really be heard throuh the screaming of the other contestants again.

Then it was Paula's turn to talk.

"You can see you two are used to sing with each other. It was amazing! You two both are amazing! Anyone who will have one, or the two of you, in their group can consider themselves very lucky."

Another round of applause, before there was complete silence again.

Simon was gonna speak and no matter what some people said about him, everyone always wanted to hear what he had to say.

"I think you guys just set the bar for everyone,' he turned to the other contestants, "You better have been watching them, 'cause I'm expecting you all to be that good. Anything less and you're out."

Silent murmurs could be heard all through the crowd.

They were impressed by what they had seen Kris and Noah do on stage and were all beginning to doubt their own compatibility to work in a group just a little bit.

True, Kris and Noah were used to singing together, so they didn't know how they would be compatible with complete strangers, but they were so good, in duet with each other and on their own, that somehow nobody thought they would be in trouble with the group round at all.

Plus, the part that probably spoke in their favor the most was that they were extremely laid back guys. Which meant that they were probably pretty easy to work with.

The people who were in awe with them the most were, of course, Kurt and Adam.

They couldn't keep their eyes off of their roommates the whole time they were performing on that stage.

Their professionalism and confidence just radiated from them and Kurt and Adam found themselves wanting to see more and more and more.

Kris and Noah both went off stage, still high on adrenaline and the judges' praises.

When Nigel had asked them to sing for their fellow contestants, they had said yes without thinking about it first.

They had been picking a song and rehearsing together ever since they left Nigel's office.

They knew Kurt and Adam might have been worried because they hadn't let them know anything of where they were or what they were doing.

But now, wrapped up in both of those guys arms, they know they're forgiven.

Blaine and Matt both pat their shoulders and congratulate them before everyone gets send out into the lobby where they get split and paired up into groups.

Kris and Matt got paired up together in a group of four, Kurt got paired up with Blaine in another group of four, Noah and Adam both get seperated and ended up in a group of strangers.

After a few hours of rehearsing and barely any, or no, sleep at all; it's time for all the groups to hit the stage, one after the other.

Kris and Matt sailed through, partly because of the rap girl. She made them all that much better.

Blaine and Kurt got through, but the other two were cut because they forgot their lyrics and Simon was relentless about it this time.

Adam was the star of his group, but the other four; he was in a group of five; scraped through, mainly because of him.

Noah relied on his entertainment level again and it didn't hurt that the extremely talented Jewish girl, Rachel Berry, was in his group to let them all sail through.

Now the only thing that rests for them is their last solo, and then it's time to see if they made it to the top 24.


	6. Chapter 6

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~2.900 Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

A/N: Just fyi, the Matt I'm referring to is Matt Giraud from AI, not Matt from Glee.

"Seriously, I don't know what you're so worked up about." Kurt said while watching Puck pace through their room, "You're gonna be just fine, Noah."

Puck huffed a frustrated little breath and kept on pacing until Kris, who was visiting the two boys together with Adam, Blaine and Matt, blocked his path.

"Listen to him, Puck," Kris spoke, blocking his friend again when he tried to side-step him, "You really have nothing to worry about."

"If there's someone who should be worried, it's me." Kurt spoke again and all heads turned to look at him.

"Are you kidding me?" Puck scoffed, "What do you have to worry about? Your voice is amazing."

Kurt ducked his head a little to try and hidehis blush, "I'm too theatrical. Simon said so himself."

"Same here," Adam piped up, "It doesn't surprise me though. We just have to show him another side of us."

"If you're all worried about what Simon says about you, than I should be worried too." Blaine remarked, "He told me I was good boysband material, but nothing more than that."

Puck huffed, "Simon can go fuck himself. It's not him I'm worried about. It's just...I want to get on this show for some reason you all won't understand."

"I do," Kris spoke up, breaking through his own created silence, "I know why you want to get on this show so bad and I understand. You know I do."

Puck gave his friend a small smile, "I know you do and I know you know my main reason to be on the show. I trust you to keep it a secret as well."

Kris nodded while the others looked confused and, especially Kurt, a little intrigued.

"You'll find something, man." Matt, the only one who hadn't said anything yet, finally spoke up, "Just don't over think your song choice."

"Just do what you do best," Blaine said, giving Puck a reassuring smile, "Show them you can work a crowd. Paula and Randy always like a show animal."

"Thanks, guys," Puck finally said, taking his guitar and walking to the door, "I think I'm gonna try and work something out."

Then he leaves the room while Kurt stares after him, intent on finding out about Noah's reason to want to be on the show that badly some other time when they were alone in their room.

Maybe he would confide in him too...

The next morning was showtime.

They were woken up very early and most of the contestants start rehearsing right away, or right after breakfast.

Now it seemed like roles were reversed, 'cause Noah seemed like the most confident person of the world, while all of the other contestants were nervous as hell.

At the breakfast table Kris, Noah, Adam and Kurt shared, Noah was the only one talking about stuff that didn't have anything to do with American Idol.

The others weren't really listening to him anyway, too locked up in their own thoughts.

"You look strangely good-mooded," a female voice came from behind him, and Noah looked around to see Rachel Berry standing there.

"I am in a good mood," Noah replied with a smile, "You look pretty relaxed yourself."

Rachel smiled, took an empty chair from a table next to her and plopped herself down next to Noah at the boys' table.

"Well, Ihave nothing to worry about, have I?" she said with a flick of her hair, "I'm totally gonna rock this thing."

Noah, who was paired up with Rachel in the group round, was already used to this. The other boys on the other hand looked rather confused.

Noah just smiled and shrugged at them. He liked Rachel well enough.

Sure enough, Rachel started talking to all of them and they just became annoyed with her, just like Noah assumed they would.

Kurt was the worst in hiding his annoyance and actually went in against the girl, making her highly annoyed, but the other boys highly amused.

At least their nerves seemed to have calmed down a little... Only to be spiked back up again when one of the crew members called them to the lobby where they all received numbers in which order they would perform that evening.

The rest of the day was spend by all of the contestants in the same way. Practise, practise and practise on their song.

Some seemed to have confidence in their choice of song, while others to change at the very last moment.

According to most of them it was way too soon when the stage boys strolled around to tell everyone it was time to get into the theatre.

They were all told to be quiet during the performances so the judges could concentrate on the person on stage without getting distracted by their reactions.

Nerves were flowing through everyone's veins. Even Puck felt the nerves whirling in his stomach, but healthy nerves.

If he felt nothing it wouldn't be good either.

The judges came inside and it didn't take long before the first contestant was called onstage to perform.

The judges waren't going to say anything as critique, so nobody would know if they did good or not.

Sometimes you could catch Paula swaying in her chair or Randy nodding his head, but you couldn't make anything out of Simon without seeing his face.

Puck was one of the last people to perform and when he went on stage, Kurt, Kris and even Adam were on the edge of their seats.

All three of them had already performed and were pretty pleased with it, so now they wanted Puck to do well too.

When Puck started playing the first notes of the song on his accoustic guitar, there was a comotion at the judges' table.

All three of them were laughing and when most of the contestants heard what song it was, they started laughing as well and cheering him on.

He was singing a whole new version of "Straight Up", which is a song from Paula Abdul, so that was the explanation for the comotion with the judges.

Kris was shaking his head, laughing and mentally congratulating his friend for being so balsy.

Matt and Blaine were up on their feet and whistled to jeer Puck on even more.

He was absolutely killing it and judging on the smirk on his face; he knew it.

Paula was up on her feet by the end of the song, Randy followed and even Simon was clapping his hands.

Kurt, Adam and Kris were up on their feet too, as well as the bigger part of the on-looking contestants.

Puck made a bow and rested his guitar against the side of the stage as he made his way down the stairs. Then went down the hallway to his seat, being congratulated by everyone he walked past.

Kurt was bouncing on his heels, waiting for Puck to finally get up to him and his other friends.

It took some balls to sing a Paula Abdul song right in front of her. Especially at this stage of the competition.

It was a make or break kind of thing and, lucky for Puck, it seemed like he had made it for sure.

Kurt pushed hid way through the chairs, not able to contain his ecitement any longer, and practically jumped on Puck when he approached him.

Puck laughed and squeezed Kurt before setting him down on the ground onto his feet again, then took in the hugs from his other friends.

He took a seat next to Kurt to watch the few contestants that were left perform, noticing Kurt's sideways glances at him.

He tried not to look back too obviously, but he couldn't help the small upward curl of his lips.

When all the performances were over, the contestants were guided out of the theater and the judges were left alone to deliberate on who they would let through and who not.

At the end of their decision, all contestants were split up into 4 different groups and were lead to 4 different rooms.

Adam, Kurt and Blaine ended up in one room together, Matt and Kris in another and Puck ended up alone in the third room.

Well, he wasn't exactly alone, but he wasn't with any of the friends he made, not even with Kris, which made him worried that he might be going home.

There was no way in his mind that after any of those three people's performances, they would get cut out of the competition. And even though he thought he hadn't done so bad himself, he still felt very, very nervous.

The one thing he held onto was that Mercedes Jones was in his group. She was a diva, sometimes in the absolute worst kind of way, but oh man, could she sing!

He might be even more relieved if Rachel had been in his room, but she wasn't. He thought he saw her go inside the room with Blaine, Adam and Kurt, so he basically knew at least Kurt would be safe.

Which made him a little bit more happy than he was nervous at the time.

When Puck and the other contestants in his room had heard screams of joy coming out of two rooms already, they knew it was getting tougher and tougher to be the third, and last group to get through.

Puck was hoping that they wouldn't get cut, but his hope slightly faded when the judges came in and Paula was fighting back her tears.

He knew she was good at acting, but still, he was afraid that this would be the last minutes for him on American Idol...

This could be part of the end or the beginning of his dreams.

Kurt, Adam and Blaine were all happy when Kris and Matt joined them in the lobby and told them they were going through.

Their happiness was short lived when the third group arrived and Puck wasn't with them...

Kurt fell tears well up in his eyes as Blaine and Matt dropped their heads, Kris rubbed his temples, shaking his head in disbelief, and Adam walked up to him and gave him a hug.

The cheers and chattering fell silent when the three judges entered the lobby and asked for their attention.

Simon took a microphone from one of the crewmembers and started talking to the contestants in it.

"This has been the season where we've found the most talented people we ever had, so, we want you to realize that this has been a very hard job for us to figure out who to keep and put into our top 24 and who not. Remember, some of you still have to go home." Murmurs were rising up from everywhere around the room, but Simon kept on talking, "It's been so hard for us that we realized that we made a mistake with two people about letting them go home."

Adam, Kris and Kurt perked up at that. They didn't know what it meant, but it sounded promising...

"That is why," Simon continued, "We stopped them from leaving the building and told them they could stay."

Gasps broke out of several mouths and Kurt suddenly felt a slight tinge of hope flow through his body.

"The first person we decided to keep in the competition is..." everyone turned their heads towards the door while Simon announced the first person's name. "Mercedes Jones!"

Mercedes was taken into the group with claps and cheers from everyone inside the lobby.

Kurt was clapping with them, but he just couldn't keep his eyes off of that damn door.

It was like he was demanding the door to let the one person he wanted to still be in the competition walk through it.

"And, the second person is..."

Simon seems to drag the "is" longer then he should and all Kurt can think is, "Get on with it!"

"Noah Puckerman!"

Kurt doesn't waste any time and runs to the door, making Puck barely get inside when he throws himself in his arms.

Puck's arms wrap themselves around the crying boy and barely holds back the tears of his own.

He thought it was over... That his dream was over.

But it wasn't.

He made it this far, now he only had to make it into the top 24 and life would be perfect.

Everyone congratulated Puck while Kurt never left his side.

It's a strange feeling, but Puck thinks he could never be happier than right now at this moment.

The fact that he hasn't thought about his girlfriend or about calling her to tell her the good news somehow doesn't frighten him.

He's happy here, with his friends, and he really, really doesn't want to leave.

As they're waiting in the room until Ryan calls them one by one to go up to the judges to see if they made it to the top 24 or not, Kris and Puck get a visit from two people they really hadn't expected to be there.

Family and friends were allowed to support them, but both Puck and Kris had told them not to come.

Of course they should have known that Santana wouldn't hold her agreement. In fact, she hadn't agreed to it at all.

So here she was, strutting into the holding room they were all sitting in, locked pinkies with her girlfriend Brittany.

Santana looked around, spotting her friends and walking right up to them, strolling Brittany along with her.

They got a few cat whistles from the other guys, while Kris felt his face turn red, Puck just smiled at the two girls.

"Please tell me those bitches have let you two into the top 24." Santana said when she stood in front of the two boys.

"We don't know yet, San," Puck answered, "We're still waiting to be called up to the judges to get our verdict."

"Oh," Santana replied, flipping her ponytail a little, "Well, we can wait."

She glared at some girls who were sitting next to Puck, who quickly scrambled away to let her and Brittany sit there.

Santana smiled triumphantly as she and Brittany took their seats, then turned to her girl to kiss her.

More whistles rose up and jaws dropped as guys were staring at them in awe.

Kris hid his head in his hands,groaning a little, Puck laughed and Kurt and Adam just looked kind of fascinated and confused at the same time.

Suddenly there came a whisper of, "That's just disgusting," from behind them and Santana broke the kiss, snapping her head back to look at the scrawny boy with glasses on his nose who just said that.

"Excuse me?"

"I said," the boy repeated himself, "That's just disgusting."

"Now you listen to me, dorkface," Santana snapped, "Who are you to judge us? If you don't like what you see than turn your stupid face away before I slam my fist into it, get it?"

The boy muttered something under his breath and Santana snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"I said, .?"

She spelled the words like she was talking to a three year old, making the guy all red in his face from embarassment.

"Yeah, I get it. Sorry." he muttered before standing up and moving to another chair. Far, far away from where Santana and the rest of them were sitting.

Matt and Blaine both started clapping and whooping, all the other non-homophobic people joining them.

Santana stood up with a huge smile on her face and did a little courtesy, earning even more cheers from the crowd around her.

"Wow, she's feisty," Kurt whispered softly to Puck, leaning close enough to him so he could hear.

"Yep," Puck answered with pride, "That's our Santana."

"I love her!" Adam exclaimed, "She's totally awesome."

Kris, who had now recovered from his shame and was pretty mad at the guy himself, finally found his words again.

"She's a handful," he smiled when Santana rolled her eyes, "But we love her. And Britt of course." He quickly added the last part when the blond girl next to Santana coughed softly.

The pair of friends, and the rest of the room for that matter, went quiet when another contestant came out and told them all she wasn't going through.

"Kris Allen," Ryan called out after he comforted the disappointed girl and send her home with her family, "It's time for you to go up there."

Kris swallowed and stood up, looking down at his friends he said, "Wish me luck."

"Good luck," Puck and Kurt said in unison while Adam showed him his crossed fingers.

Santana huffed, "You don't need luck. You're in that top 24, there's no doubt about it."

Kris just wished he could believe that...

"And if they don't put you through," Santana continued, "I'll go up there and give those judges a piece of my mind."

Now he was just wishing it wouldn't have to come to that.


	7. Chapter 7

Title: The Key To Our Soul Author: saar_fantasy Pairings: Adam Lambert/Kris Allen, Noah 'Puck' Puckerman/Kurt Hummel (there will probably be mentioned a few more, but these are the main ones)  
>Rating: PG-13 Warnings: none really Spoilers: none Genre: Humor,Romance, Music, AU, American Idol cross-overGlee cross-over Word Count:: ~ Disclaimer: As much as I wished I did, I don't own any of them.  
>Summary: Adam Lambert and Kurt Hummel, both friends; and most importantly, both openly gay; sign up to audition for American Idol in New York. They both hope to make a singing career out of it, neither of them expecting to get so much more...<p>

"Will you stop that?" Kurt scolded Adam as he was plucking at his nail polish, "You're making me nervous."

Adam sighed and carded his hand through his hair, "What if he's not through, Kurt?"

Kurt gave him a smile that he hoped was reassuring, "Kris will get through, don't worry. He's really good, Adam. Really good."

"I know," Adam answered, "I just...He's my friend, you know. I never would have imagined that this roommate thing would end well because I really thought I would end up with some kind of jerk, instead I got Kris. We're very different people, that's for sure, but somehow...It just clicks. You know what I mean?"

Kurt couldn't help but glance over at the mohawked boy who was sitting with Santana and Brittany, laughing with something Santana just said.

"Yes. I know."

"We became friends in such a short amount of time. I don't want to lose that."

Kurt smiled tightly, "Believe me, Adam. I really know what you mean."

Just at that moment, Kris came through the door, face a little flushed and both his arms in the air.

"I made it," he said to Ryan, then he was engulfed into the arms of five people at once; Adam's, Puck's, Kurt's, Santana's and Brittany's.

Then the good news was on a roll.

Matt, Mercedes, Blaine, Kurt and Adam all got through along with some other contestants until there were only four people left.

Rachel Berry, Sunshine Corazon, Jesse St. James and...Noah Puckerman.

Of course they kept the drama in the show of already having 11 girls and 11 boys, and still have two people for each group waiting for their verdict.

It was absolutely nerve wrecking. Especially for Puck.

"I don't know what to think about it," Puck said to Ryan when he asked him how he felt, "I was already on the verge of going home and they called me back. They can't have called me back for nothing, right?"

"You never know," was Ryan's answer.

Which made Puck even more worried then he already was.

If they could just get it over with...No matter what the verdict was.

"Are you nervous?" Puck asked a fidgeting Rachel during a filming break.

"No," Rachel answered, receiving a raised eyebrow from Puck in return she smiled, "Maybe a little bit."

Puck smiled, "You have no reason to be nervous. Those judges would be stupid not to let you through."

Rachel beamed, "Thanks. You look pretty nervous yourself."

Puck shrugged, "I don't know what to expect. They just called me back, but now they keep me as one of the last two guys and the other guy is Jesse. What if they called me back just to dump me again?"

"You're a great entertainer, Noah. That's what they like so much about you."

"Yeah, too bad the show isn't called "American Entertainer". I'm sure I would have won, hands down."

Rachel laughed and shook her head, taking Puck's hand in her's.

"You are also a great singer. You have both the factors while Jesse, although I really like him, only has one." she smiled reassuringly, "You'll get through to the top 24. Don't worry."

Puck gave a small, nervous smile. Jut at the moment that Ryan announced they would get back to filming.

Ryan let the girls go first, leaving Puck and Jesse both anxiouly waiting.

All the people who had made it to the top 24 already were sitting back in the holding room, waiting for the last two contestant to join them.

Their eyes were all glued to the door when they suddenly heard footsteps coming closer.

"And?" Ryan asked when the two girls stepped into the room.

"I made it!" Rachel exclaimed and was soon hugged by her two dads and then the other contestants while Ryan stood back, smiling as always.

Kurt smiled but was still nervous about Puck. Everyone had expected that Rachel would be chosen over Sunshine, but between Puck and Jesse?

Nobody really knew...

"I wouldn't worry about him too much," Kurt turned his head to see Rachel suddenly sitting next to him. "He'll be through to the top 24. I'm sure about it."

Kurt gave a small smile. He knew Puck was good but he still wasn't sure if the judges saw his real potential.

Because Puck was an entertainer, the American public would surely like him. But would the judges give him a chance to show what he could do?

Footsteps were heard and everyone in the holding room were holding their breaths.

Rachel took Kurt's hand in hers and squeezed, Kurt squeezing hers right was sitting on the edge of his seat, Adam's hand resting on his back in a comforting way.

Even Santana looked nervous. They all wanted Puck to get through, but Jesse was a very good singer.

Who would the judges have chosen?

The ok singer with a hell of a lot charisma, or the great singer with the charisma of a plank.

Then both Jesse and Puck appeared in the doorway, their faces unreadable.

"And?" Ryan inquiered, "Come on you guys, don't leave your fellow contestants in this tension."

Puck and Jesse looked at each other before a grin broke out on Puck's face.

"I made it."

The words were barely out of his mouth or both Santana and Kurt raced up to him, engulfing him into their arms.

Then Brittany and Kris took over, soon followed by Adam, Matt, Blaine and the rest of the contestants.

While Puck was getting hugs and congratulations from everyone, his eyes stayed locked onto Kurt's.

They both smiled and Puck gave him a wink before getting tangled into one of Rachel's hugs again, Santana standing next to him, rolling her eyes.

Meanwhile, Kris and Adam were off to find someone of the producers or anyone else who could answer their question.

They wanted to know if they could still be roommates or not. They certainly hoped they could...

Luckily for them, the producers had decided that the contestants who were roommates and both got through to the top 24 could still be roommates.

The other ones would be paired up with someone new.

Kris and Adam were tremendously relieved and went to tell Puck and Kurt, who seemed just as excited about it as they were.

None of them had to be afraid to end up with some narrow minded jerk for sure.

Talking about narrow minded jerks... The scrawny boy who had learned how vicious Santana's tongue could be wasn't going through to the next round.

Santana and Brittany had both stood up and clapped when he told the bad news to Ryan, much to the dismay of the boy and his family, but even they didn't dare to say anything.

Kurt was getting a little nervous under Santana's scrutinizing looks.

It was as if she was trying to read his intentions with Puck straight off his face.

But what were his intentions with Puck? He didn't even know that himself.

He also wondered if Adam knew what his intentions with Kris were because they had been attached to the hip ever since they knew that they had both made it through.

The strange thing was that neither Puck, nor Kris seemed to mind when Kurt or Adam stood just a little closer than they were supposed to, when they hugged them just that little bit tighter, when they laughed with something they said while it wasn't really that funny.

Kurt and Adam were falling for those two boys and they did absolutely nothing to stop them.

The only thing that stopped Kurt and Adam was the fact that Kris and Puck had girlfriends.

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for them to still be roommates but neither of them wanted to be separated so they just have to work their way through it.

It couldn't be that though, could it?

They could just be friends with them. Even though there would always be the yearning for something more...

Kurt was sitting alone in his room because Puck was gone into town with Kris, Adam, Santana and Brittany to celebrate .  
>They had asked Kurt to join them, but he had politely declined, telling them he wanted to call his dad to tell him the good news and then just go to bed.<p>

His dad had congratulated him with pride in his voice, then he gave the phone to Carole who gave a far more enthusiastic respond than his dad, but Kurt was used to that.

He knew his dad was proud of him and that was all that really mattered.

Finn had send his congrats as well, which really pleased Kurt that his step-brother seemed genuinely happy for him.

Puck had told him not to stay up, but Kurt just couldn't get to sleep.

He hoped Puck wouldn't be too drunk so they could talk about his little secret, because he really wanted to know.

It was 3 am when Puck finally entered the room. Kurt had fallen asleep after all but woke up when he heard the door open and heard people whispering.

It was probably Puck, Kris and Adam saying goodnight to each other. Kurt squinted against the light from the hallway and watched Puck stumble inside.

He didn't put the light on so he stumbled against a chair and cursed silently. He fumbled around a little until Kurt took pitty on him and turned on the little light on the nightstand next to his bed.

"Thanks", Puck muttered, flashing Kurt a smile before dropping himself on his bed, his face buried into his pillow.

It was silent for a while and Kurt thought Puck had fallen asleep until he heard him groan softly.

"Noah?"

"Hmm?"

"How drunk are you?"

Puck chuckled at Kurt's bluntness, "Apparently not drunk enough because I'm still answering you."

Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, scooting a little closer to the edge of his bed. For what reason? He didn't really know.

It just made him feel like he was a little closer to Puck and that was necessary for what he was about to ask.

"What are you hiding from us?"

Well, that came out nice...

"Huh?" Puck asked, lifting his head up a little and blinking at Kurt, "What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything from you guys."

"Yes, you do," Kurt replied, he wasn't going to let this go so easily, "You made it clear that Kris knows something about you that we don't. Well, you made me really curious..."

Silence fell again and Kurt was starting to feel uncomfortable.

Maybe he shouldn't have asked...At least not like this.

He heard a sigh coming from the other bed, then the rustling of sheets as he saw Puck sitting up and fumbling into his pocket to take out his wallet.

Then he stood up and started walking over to Kurt's bed, sitting down and taking a picture out of his wallet, showing it to Kurt.

On the picture was a little girl, probably about a year or 4, 5 as far as Kurt could tell, with blond curly hair and, Kurt noticed, Puck's dopey smile.

"She's beautiful," Kurt said softly, then he looked at Puck questioningly, "Who is she?"

"She's my daughter."

Kurt couldn't hold back the gasp and he stared back at the picture, then back at Puck.

"Your daughter..."

Puck nodded and swallowed slightly, his thumb gently stroking over the girl in the picture's face.

"Me and her mother gave her away when she was born. We were too young to take care of a baby. I wanted to keep her, wanted to try to be a good father, but Quinn, the mother of my daughter, didn't want to hear about it." he wiped at his eyes, wiping away the few tears that had escapedwhile he was talking, "I kept in contact with her new mother though. I get pictures and I'm allowed to send her gifts for her birthday and stuff, but I haven't seen her, haven't been able to hold her in my arms since the day she's been born."

Kurt honestly didn't know what to say. Instead he cautiously slipped his hand into Puck's, smiling a little when he didn't pull away but even entwined their fingers together.

"One of the reasons, probably the major one, why I'm not allowed to see her is that I was such a loser back then...I mean, I did drugs in cookies that we were selling in a bake sale at school, I...I fucked most of the cheerleaders at school and when I did my pool cleaning job, let's just say I was inside something else more than inside a pool."

Kurt raised his eyebrows at that, but he didn't want to judge Puck on something that he's done in the past.

This was now and the Puck that he knew now was nothing like that anymore, he could just tell.

Puck looked so uncomfortable that Kurt squeezed his hand, coaxing him to look at him.

"You've learned from your mistakes, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Puck replied softly, "I wouldn't be here if I hadn't."

Kurt smiled and Puck couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Thank you for telling me this."

Puck shook his head and shifted a little so he could wind his arms around Kurt.

"Thank you for not judging me on my past."

Kurt leaned forward and buried his face in Puck's shoulder while Puck tightened his arms around him.

They both pulled away with a silly grin on their faces, Kurt staring at the picture again.

"What's her name?"

"Beth," Puck answered.

"That's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl."

Puck smiled and nodded, staring down at the picture as well.

"I just want to show Shelby, that's the woman who adopted Beth, that I'm not that same punk I was back then anymore. I want to get a chance to see my daughter again."

Kurt felt tears well up in his eyes by the sincerity and raw emotion in Puck's voice.

"You will," he said softly, but firmly, "You will get that chance for sure."

Puck smiled, reaching out his hand to gently wipe away a tear on Kurt's cheek with his thumb, then leaned forward to press a kiss against his forehead.

"Let's get some sleep, shall we?"

Kurt nodded, hugging Puck one more time before crawling under his blankets, his eyes still staring up at his friend.

"Goodnight, Noah."

Puck gently traced a knuckle against the sight of Kurt's face, revelling the softness of his skin.

He heard Kurt sigh and leaned forward again, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.

" 'Night Kurt."

Then he walked over to his own bed and buried himself under his covers.

A little while later, both boys fell asleep with a soft smile on their faces, not knowing that on the other side of the hallway, their two friends were doing exactly the same.


End file.
